Polish troops find abandoned baby in Afghanistan

In this picture made available by the Operations Command of Poland's Defense Ministry in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, shows a baby girl which Polish sappers found on Wednesday abandoned on the road of an armored patrol in Waghez southern Afghanistan. Named by the troop Pola, for Poland, the baby girl has been examined by military doctors and was to be handed over to Afghan pediatricians and authorities. (AP Photo/Marcin Gil/Poland's Defense Ministry)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish troops on patrol in southern Afghanistan have found a newborn baby abandoned on the side of a road.

The towel-wrapped girl was found Wednesday by soldiers who were checking the safety of a route near their Waghez military base, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Janusz Walczak.

The soldiers were first suspicious about the item in a country where hidden roadside bombs are prevalent.

No other people were found in a 2-kilometer (about 1 mile) radius, and it was unclear who had left the baby there and why.

The entire column took the girl to a medical center at the base, and soldiers were sent to buy baby formula, a bottle and a bib.

The troops named the girl Pola, after Poland, and planned to give her to Afghan authorities.